hubbard



Feb. 3, 1931. H. E. HUBBARD 5 PRINTING DEVICE I Filed Dec. 2, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1

Feb. 3, 1931. HUBBARD 1,790,665

PRINTING DEVICE Filed Dec. 2, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I is 1 j Patented Feb. 3, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HENRY E. HUBBARD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB, BY MESNE ASSIGNIENTS, ADDRESSOGBAPH COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A. CORPORATION 01? DELA- WARE PBINTIN G DEVICE Application filed December 2, 1926. Serial No. 152,095.

The object of this invention is to provide a novel printing device adapted to be ar ranged in printing position on the bed of a printing machine and comprising a frame carrying a plurality of detachable plates having printing characters embossed thereon and adapted to print solid reading matter in proper line spacing.

Another object of the invention is to provide a printing device, comprising a frame and a plurality of printing plates detachably secured thereon, which can be made in a relatively small size for use in a commercial addressing machine, or in a large size for use on a bed of a printing machine for repetition printing.

A further object of the invention is to provide for detachably securing a plurality of printing devices in edge contact on a frame by simple means which will permit the plates to be easily and -readily mounted on the frame and detached therefrom, and which will hold the plates in rigid position on the frame against endwise or sidewise movement.

And a further object is to provide means on the back of the frame for engaging the frame with the bed of a printing machine and which may also be employed for holding a card bearing information of any kind.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated the invention in two sizes and referring thereto:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a plate which may be used in printing the body of a letter for example.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the complete printing device embodying plates of the size shown in Fig. 1 and showing the manner in which the top plate is inserted.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the upper portion of the frame shown in Fig. 2.

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are sectional views on the lines H, 5-5 and 66 respectively of Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a front view and Fig. 8 is a back view of the device embodying relatively small plates.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view on the line 9-9 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 10 is a detail perspective view.

Figs. 11 and 12 illustrate the method of inserting the top plate.

Referring particularly to Figs. 16 of the drawings 7 is the printing plate upon which type characters are embossed by a suitable machine. The plate is recessed at both ends, at 8, providing end projections 9 at the corners of the plate. The plates are all made alike and a description of one will be sufficient. The type characters are embossed in lines according to a desired line spacing and necessarily this line spacing must be maintained when several plates are required so that uniform line spacing will appear when an impression is taken from the several plates. It is therefore important to be able to mount the plates upon the frame in a relation to each. other which will produce the same line spacing between plates as between lines on a plate and also to be able to mount the plates on the frame easily and quickly and so that they will be held rigidly against movement on the frame.

The frame 10 is provided on its back with edge flanges 11 which reenforce and strengthen the frame and provide means for engaging the frame with the bed of a printing machine to register the device in printing position. Lips 12 are struck up from the frame to en gage the end projections 9 on the plates. The lower lips 12"are made in the form of corner lips, that is to say each connects with the frame at its bottom and at its outer edges, so that the bottom plate will be held by ;-he corner lips 12 flatly upon the frame and against endwise movement in either direction and against sidewise movement in one direction. The frame is provided with elongated stops 13 between the lips the inner edge of the stops being aligned with the inner edge of the lips. These steps are conveniently formed by pressing the metal of the frame outwardly from the back thereof. The stops 13 are embossed on the frame and may be conveniently of the same height as the lips 12, 12 but it is only necessary that they should be sufficiently high to form an end stop for the plate, and for this purpose they may be an bossed to the height of the thickness of the late.

P It will be observed in Fig. 2 that there are two corner lips at the lower corners of the frame to receive the end projections at the lower edge of the bottom plate in the frame, and that there are two lips to engafge the adjacent projections at the ends 0 two adacent plates, the latter lips being of sufficient size to sufiiciently overlap the projections of adjacent plates. At the top of the frame there is a stop 14 adjacent one corner, and a ielding locking member 15 adjacent the other corner, both the stop and the locking member being struck u from the frame. The bottom plate is hel by the corner lips 12' the top plate is held by the stop and the loclring member, the intermediate plate is held between the top and bottom plates, and all the plates are retained on the frame liy the lips and sto and locking member. t will readil be 0 rved that provision may be made or any number of intermediate plates on the frame, and that the plates may be made smaller or the frame may be made larger than is indicated in Figs. 1-6.

In assembling the plates on the frame the lower plate is placed flatly against the frame in an inclined position with the projection at its upper left end engaged under the lip 12 next a ove the corner Ii 12' at the lower left corner of the frame. he recessed part of the other end of the plate is disposed opposite to the lip above the corner lip at the lower right corner of the frame. The inclined position of the lower plate in assembling it on the frame is indicated by the top plate in Fig. 2. Then the lower plate 1s moved, by a swinging motion on the li at the upper left corner of the plate as a pivot, to its final position as shown in Fi 2. The intermediate plate is also arran e in place as just described, and as many 0 these plates may be used as required and as the frame will accommodate. This construction and arrangement of the li s and stops on the frame avoids the necessity of sliding the bottom plate from the top to the bottom of the frame as would be necessary in the case of continuous guides at the sides of the frame. This is also true as to the intermediate plate.

The plates fit snugly on the frame between the lips and stops engaging their ends so that endwise movement of the plates on the frame is prevented. This snu fit, and the convenient method of assembhng the plates on the frame, is made possible by the recess and the projections at the left end of the plate. I have also shown the right end of the plate made with a recess and projections, but this is not necessary and the right end of each platemay be left square with the top and ottom of the plate. I prefer to make the lates the same at both ends because the lank plates are then interchangeable end for end. The lower corner lips, the engagement of the several plates edge to edge, and the stops 14 and 15, hold the plates on the frame against up and down movement on the frame. Thus the plates fit snugly against each other on the frame and are held securely against movement in any direction, so that in repetition printing they will give a uniform impression with correct line spacing.

for forming the lips in commercial production. If a reasonable tolerance is provided for these purposes the plates may be free to move endwise so far that they will not properly register. To make the invention in commercial production so that the plates ma be easily inserted and removed and so that t ere will be proper registration of the plates I provide the embossed elongated stops 13 adj acentone side ed e of the frame to abut the recessed ends of the plates. These stops can be embossed to cooperate with the retaining lips at the opposite side edge of the frame to hold the plates in proper registration. Each of these elongated stops facilitates the insertion of its plate by providing a fulcrum abuttin one end of the plate, Figs. 2, 11 on which the plate is swung into its position on the frame. It may be said, also, that the elongated stop constitutes a guide in insert ing the plate because when the plate is abuttedx against the stop the opposite end of the plate will clear the retaining devices, Fi s. 2, 11 and then as the plate is swung on t e stop as a fulcrum its opposite end will slide into position under the retaining lips. Thus there can be considerable excess tolerance of spacing between the retaining lips at one edge and the retaining lips at the other edge of the frame, which will simplify manufacture and facilitate insertion and removal of the plates, because the elongated stops are relied upon to hold the plates in registration.

A single frame may be used and loaded V with plates from time to time as required, or a number of frames may be provided and some or all of them may be kept loaded with plates, and these loaded frames may be stored in accordanace with a card index system so that they can be used whenever desired. I may place a card under the flanges 11 at the back of the frame and this card may contain an impression of the type form on the plates carried by the frame or it may contain any other desired information. To facilitate insertion and removal of the card the top and bottom flanges 11 are shortened at one end of the frame to leave a space 11' between the end flange and the top and bottom flanges.

The device as shown in smaller size in Figs. 7-12 is substantially the same as that shown in Figs. 1-6, except that a corner stop 16 is provided at the upper left corner of the frame instead of the lip 12 and stop 14 of Figs. 1-6.

The invention may be made in a printing device having a single plate and of the size which has been used commonly in addressing machines, or it can be made in a larger size embodying a plurality of plates and mounted on the bed of a printing machine so that the body of a letter, or other extended matter, may be printed. The device may be used for repetition printing of the body of a letter in a machine which takes single address impressions from other printing devices fed successively through the machine.

I may make any changes in the form, construction and arrangement of parts as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A printing plate for use with a frame having retaining means to engage corners of the plate and an elongated stop between said retaining means, said plate adapted to have printing characters embossed thereon and adapted to flatly engage the frame, and said plate having projections at the corners at one end to engage said retaining means .and an elongated recess in said end between said projections to be abutted by said stop, the recess being longer than the stop topermit the plate to be inserted angularly on the frame.

2. A printing plate for use with a frame having retaining means to engage the corners of the plate and an elongated stop between one pair of said retaining means, said plate adapted to have printing characters embossed thereon and adapted to flatly engage the frame, and said plate having projections at the corners at both ends to engage said corner retaining means on the frame, and a recess in each end between the projections thereon to be abutted selectively by said stop, the recesses being longer than the stop to permit the plate to be inserted angularly on the frame.

3. A printing device frame having a pair of plate retaining devices thereon, and a stop on the frame extending from a marginal edge thereof substantially from one of said retaining devices to the other.

4. A printing device frame having retaining devices thereon and an elongated stop between a pair of said retaining devices, the inner edge of the stop being spaced inwardly of the frame and beyond the outer portions of the retaining devices.

of the stop bein alined substantially with the free edge of t e retaining devices.

6. A printing device comprising a frame having. retaining devices and a rigid stop thereon, and a printing plate arranged on the frame and engaged with said retaining devices, the plate being recessed to accommodate the stop.

7. A printing device comprising a frame having retaining devices thereon and a rigid stop between a pair of said retaining devices, and a printing plate having projections to engage said retaining devices and a recess to accommodate the stop.

8. A printing device comprising a frame, a printing plate having printing characters embossed thereon, said plate having projections at both corners of one end, and retaining devices on the frame engaging said projections and the other end of the plate and holding the plate against endwise movement on the frame.

9. A printing device comprising a frame, a

printing plate having printing characters cmbossed thereon, said plate having projections extending outward from one end and a recess between said projections, and retaining devices on the frame engaging said projections and the other end of the plate and holding the plate against endwise movement in the frame.

10. A printing device comprising a frame having retaining devices and a stop thereon, a printing plate having printing characters embossed thereon, said plate being engaged at one end with retaining devices on the frame and having projections at its other end engaging retaining devices on the frame, said projections providing a recess therebetween at the end of the plate to accommodate a stop on the frame.

11. A printing device comprising a frame having corner lips adjacent its lower corners, stops adjacent its upper corners, a plurality of spaced lips adjacent the side edges of the frame, and a plurality of plates arranged edge to edge on said frame and engaged under said lips and below said stops.

12. A printing device comprising a frame having corner lips adjacent its lower corners, stops adjacent its upper corners, a plurality of spaced lips adjacent the side edges of the frame, and a plurality of plates arranged edge to edge on said frame and engaged under said lips and below said stops, each of said spaced lips overlapping the corners of two adjacent plates.

13. A printing device comprising a frame having corner lips adjacent its lower corners, stops adjacent its upper corners, a plurality of spaced lips adjacent the side edges of the frame, and a plurality of plates having end projections at each corner, said plates being arranged edge to edge on said frame with theirends engaged under said lips and below said stops.

14. A printing device comprising a frame having corner hps at its lower corners and 5 other ips thereon, a stop at one end of the frame between each pair of lips, a sto at one upper corner of the frame and a loc ing device adjacent the other upper corner of the frame, and a plurality of printing plates having printing characters embossed thereon, said plates having end projections at their corners engaged with said lips, all the plates being held by said lips and said stops and said locking member in continuous engagement and against endwise and lateral movement on the frame.

15. A printing device comprising a frame having spaced lips adjacent its side edges, a plurality of plates arranged edge to edge on the frame, said plates being engaged at their ends under said lips, each lip engaging two adjacent plates, and means on the frame engaging the'lower edge of the bottom plate and the upper edge of the top plate to prevent up or down movement of the plates.

16. A printing device comprisin a printing plate having recesses in its en s and between its top and bottom, and a frame having retaining devices engaging the ends of the plate, and embossed stops abutting the recesses.

HENRY E. HUBBARD. 

